Ty Pennington Takes SPF Promotion to New Levels

Ty Pennington, the Keynote Speaker at Sprayfoam 2015, not only provided a riveting Keynote Address, he embraced all that was SPF during Sprayfoam 2015. In addition to the Keynote, during which Ty detailed how he came about being involved in the construction industry and sprayfoam, he spent a good amount of time in the SPFA hospitality room at the Hyatt on Tuesday night. Everybody in the room had the opportunity to talk with Ty, get signatures, have photos taken and share a lot of laughs. Ty had a big presence on the show floor, too, as he spent Wednesday at the Lapolla booth interacting with all of the expo attendees. And...if you were following the Tweets this year, you know how much traffic #SPFAShow saw this year, and you also probably saw this great shot posted by Ty just prior to his Keynote Address:

Did you know that @TyPennington has 103,000 followers! That is a lot of people that heard about Sprayfoam 2015, and were made aware of Ty's support of the SPF industry.

The media in Albuquerque was pretty excited about having Ty in the neighborhood too, and 2KASA Fox came out to do a TV interview while Ty was on the Sprayfoam 2015 show floor. Ty took the opportunity to share some of the reasons he supports SPF, in general, and Sprayfoam 2015 as its Keynote Speaker. (Ty is also spreading the good word about SPF at other shows, such as at the IBS (International Builders Show). Watch interview here.)

During his Keynote Address at Sprayfoam 2015, Ty spoke with the audience rather than at the attendees, "which is something I really enjoy doing," he says. "We have the chance to inform and grow from our interactions with each other, all with the same desire to make this great product and industry realize its full potential." Read more behind-the-scenes notes from Ty here. During the Keynote, he interacted with the audience and even dared to open the mic for people to ask off-the-cuff questions, which he answered while on stage. Some of the comments from Ty at SPFA's special reception for him on Tuesday night and during the Keynote included:

>>One common concern with SPF is finding the right contractor, which is a problem that runs closer to home than Ty ever thought it would. "My mom even asked me!" he exclaimed. The question he hears is, "How can I make sure I don’t get #$*& by a contractor?" His answer, in the past, was to get references and have due diligence. He also recommends a new company, now, as well, called www.Porch.com. "They are going to revolutionize not only what you do to your home, but what it’s worth. It will, basically, be a ‘black book’ value of your home. It will also show other work done in the area and the credentials of the workers. "You can see what other people are doing in your neighborhood," explained Ty, who is all about rounding up communities to help support each other.

>>Ty said one of his "ah-hah" moments for SPF was after he had it installed in his mom’s house in Florida. "We put SPF in the house then left the house for 5-6 days, during which time it didn’t have any power going to it. When we went back, the house felt like a refrigerator, and it was in the mid-80s outside." Ty said this experience with SPF changed him. "If I wasn’t a believer before, I was then! I am not sure people understand the comfort level it provides." However, "in the SPF industry, it is so important to have someone well trained and well versed."

>>Ty said he started out being a carpenter "to pay my way through art school." He also dabbled in landscaping, "making $3 hour to work in the grueling sun." Luckily, he found that in construction, you can always go back to it, as long as you have the tools. "And what I kept going back to was construction. I have always been really good with my hands," which he realized even as a young man when he rallied some neighbors and borrowed some tools and built a three-story treehouse in a day.

>>During his search to find a career that suited his skills and personality, he ended up going door to door. "I realized you had to be your own salesman."

>>One aspect of the show that most people don’t know is that Ty would have a couple different house renovations going on at one time. "I would leave on the third day and start a whole new project. Then I would fly back to the other family and house. What I realized early on is that you have to have plan a, plan b and plan c," especially in construction. "Murphy’s Law is out there! Shoot for the skies, but know where your middle is. Make your middle the best it can possibly be."

>>High quality work was a must for Ty. "Looking back on the quality of what we built is what I can be proud of." It is even one of the reasons he joined up with Lapolla and SPF. On the show, "the contractors had a 10-year punch out list... they would come back" and stand behind the work done to the houses. "That is one of the reasons I got behind Lapolla and SPF."

>>Ty said "the bus" was a pivotal moment in every project as well. "In that moment, when that bus moved... there is no better reward. It is just mind-blowing."